Howard, Gasol, & Hill Out Injured. Lakers Done?

In one game the Lakers lost Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, and Jordan Hill to injury. Is this the end of the line for LA?

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: When you’re calling up a center from the D-League to start it’s a bad sign.

It is no secret the Lakers have been struggling this season. They came into the year with high expectations, talk of championships, and whispers of regular season win records. To say it hasn’t exactly worked out as planned is like saying Alabama sort of squeaked past Notre Dame to win the BCS Championship game last night. Ouch.

On to the Laker injury report: Gasol received a concussion when he suffered a blow to the face in the fourth quarter of last night’s game. He won’t travel with the team and is technically out indefinitely. Concussions aren’t usually that serious and we would expect Gasol back within a few games.

Dwight Howard’s injury is more serious. He tore his labrum in his right shoulder and will be out indefinitely. Howard will travel with the team and is officially on a week-to-week exam schedule, but he could be out a bit. This is the injury that really hurts the Lakers, especially because Howard’s been putting up solid numbers even as the team struggles.

Jordan Hill had a small tear in his hip and is also going to be out for a bit. No timetable has been put forward yet on Jordan’s return probably because the Lakers’ doctors were too busy with Gasol and Howard, but his small tear shouldn’t be painfully serious. This means the Lakers have to call up Robert Sacre from the D-League to start their upcoming game in Houston.

For a team already struggling, this onslaught of injury can only make things tougher on Kobe.